What we're
doing...
Just to prove we’re not sat with a Caffé Latte on the roof terrace all day...
What we're
October 2019
Old Tech becomes New Tech
Our MD Neil Armstrong was invited by appletye.org to contribute to a project which looks at 100 years of paper manufacture. Each of the 100 participating artists was allotted a year and asked to reflect some aspect of that year by using paper as an entry point to their work. Neil's paper comes from the year 1991 and he has chosen to concentrate on the dissolution of the Soviet Union, as his jumping off point.
He decided to re-distribute the paper in a VERY unique way... if you would like to see how...
take a look here >>
July 2019
Disability video V2
New things to say – new people to see. Some time ago we made a video for Disability North, based in Newcastle, and it has been really well received. But nothing stays still and there is now a lot more to inform people about.
The opening sequence remains the same but most of the other content is updated. Take a look and see what you think >>
Our video plays off the home page of their site (which we designed and manage too). See it here >>
April 2019
Neither Use Nor Ornament...
Aside from all his other work, our MD Neil Armstrong has been working away on an installation artwork that is now on show at the OVADA gallery in Oxford until the end of April. If you happen to be out and about anywhere near, he strongly recommends you to check it out... this is how the Daily Info describes it >>
March 2019
Open all hours
Our new website sk1n.co.uk is now out there and ready for you to order lots of lovely product. There are more items to come very soon but for now this gives a great taste of what's on offer.
Let you into a little secret - if you're thinking of buying anything - there are discount codes on the site so doooo check them out. Have a look here >>
February 2019
Live on the winternet (sic)…
Having done a bit of a shout out for this before - we can now officially declare the Betesil video open for business!
Seems to be going down very well so far with patients and health care professionals alike...Take a peek here >>
January 2019
Bit of a knees up…
This month sees us launching a fab new product for DermaUK. We've updated the DermaUK website to reflect a new product called Betesil, and spent many hours in the edit bringing to life a video that gives advice and tips to practitioners and the general public.
Filming took place in the lovely Toffee Factory, where we set up a studio, and our model had the task of literally putting up her knees...and elbows too!
November 2018
Small steps…
Quick shout out for our MD Neil Armstrong this month as he pursues his art practice in parallel to more commercial work. Neil is working on a project in collaboration with psychotherapist David Edwards which centres around the now demolished Caroline Street in Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyne. The final installation will be shown in Oxford in March 2019 at the OVADA gallery in Oxford.
Find out more on Neil's website here>>
October 2018
Be kind to your…
Don’t think it’s a spoiler to wave the flag for a new site we’ve been working on this month called Sk1N. No it’s not a typo – it really does have a number one for an ‘I’. Yep it’s the number one in skin care…see what they did there! Funky look and an ‘easy to purchase’ online mechanism aims to establish this site as the place to go for over the counter type emollients and other skin care products.
These days the phone is the first platform we design for as this is the dominant means of product search. It’s an interesting design challenge to make things work in both landscape and portrait format.
September 2018
Wave goodbye and say hello...
Our Great Exhibition of the North installation is now finished. We think it looked rather nice in the various locations.
Dr Victoria Armstrong gave a talk about the project at Newcastle Central Library and also presented it to a Sociology convention, where we are led to believe it was very well received. We think it looked best at night when the screens were at their most evocative.
Check out the disability North website for further details >>
We have lots of projects simmering in the background... stay tuned!
August 2018
The Dog Ate My Wheelchair
Our project, in partnership with disability north and featuring six lovely people who identify as ‘disabled’ or different’, is now out there. The idea is to offer a glimpse into other lives, and to this end we have been working with the Great Exhibition of the North, Nexus, Intu Eldon Square and Newcastle city library to bring our piece into the public arena. A shop window, a bus station...a library...all v exciting!
Check out the disability North website for further details >>
July 2018
EMP goes LIVE
We mentioned these folks a few months ago and now their website is up and running… so big smiles all round as it was a team effort! Visit site here >>
It’s quite a powerful beast – integrated into the production line at EMP to make ordering easy for the customer. New products are coming online every day, making this a website to watch if you are a medical practitioner or a pharmacist.
June 2018
Pictures at an exhibition
We are working hard to complete our four screen video installation for the Great Exhibition of the North. It’s going to be great to get the videos out there and see what people think.
Lovely to work with such an interesting group of people brought together by Disability North… hope you like the end results folks… updates to come.
May 2018
Training for the future
Our new site for TDR training is now live. It’s full of colour and vigour and lots of enthusiastic students. We took the piccies too and it was a pleasure to meet students and staff at this forward thinking training organisation.
View the site here >>
April 2018
Your body's largest single organ
Yep of course you knew - it's your skin of course!
So here we go with a new site for our very lovely client Derma UK. It had to comply with strict regulatory requirements and has two areas – one for professionals and one for the general public. We’ve been involved in rolling out a new overall brand image for them and this is the flagship. Apply freely!
View the new site here >>
March 2018
Great Exhibition of the North
You will no doubt be aware that the GEON is set to take place in Newcastle throughout the summer of 2018. We are very excited to tell you that our MD Neil Armstrong is to be lead artist with a project for the Exhibition working with Disability North. It's called ‘The dog ate my wheelchair’ and it's gonna be just fab.
55 feel that this is such a worthwhile project that we have teamed up with GEON as one of the sponsors of the project, providing editing facilities to produce the four screen video installation which will be shown in a variety of high profile locations across the city. We will be keeping you updated as this takes shape. Here comes the summer!!
Feb 2018
Ecommerce with a difference
The pharmaceutical industry is heavily regulated and none more so than the Specials industry, which supplies batch and one off medicines for bespoke purposes. Our client EMP are a new Specials manufacturing company based in Southern Ireland. We are working on their online ordering system delivered by SANA, which integrates into a powerful back end powered by Microsoft NAV. The company has just received validation and are now just about ready to trade – congratulations all round on a job very well done.
January 2018
Webtastic
With one new site launched this year for enginei and another due to launch imminently for Derma UK, we have been busy with all things web.
The coming month sees us working on a site for TDR Training and one for a newly formed construction company. Add to this the design of a front end interface for brand new southern Irish Specials Manufacturing company EMP and that comprises quite a lot of web work for 55 this year so far. Bring it on we say...
December 2017
The business of learning
Our new client TDR training provides all manner of training for students looking to get into industry. This is the much talked about ‘training’ and ‘apprenticeship’ end of education… where students learn practical as well as theoretical skills. These range from studying to be an electrician, to all manner of turning, milling and welding applications – plus lab based science centred courses.
Our job was to get onsite and give a flavour of the variety of what takes place.
It’s great to see such positive things taking place and such enthusiastic students in these challenging times. Oh – and Seasons Greetings to you all!
November 2017
The Wire
Our client enginei needed an update to their website in order to reflect the rapid changes that take place in their industry. Monitoring fuel and emissions on seafaring vessels of many shapes and sizes is their thing. In order to get the message across to ship owners we are using a 3D model of an offshore service vessel to give an idea of which parts of the ship are involved in their work.
It’s going to look very clear, clean and modern. We like it… You can see it at enginei.co.uk when we launch the new site at the end of this year.
October 2017
Corners of Europe
A lovely job this month was filming the Corners Project for ISIS Arts. The brief was to capture the essence of three projects they have developed, together with East Durham Creates, in ex mining villages on the North East coast.
Shot run and gun, it was a real joy to film and talk to artists from various parts of Europe who had come together to make this happen.
Three artistic collaborations produced a radio program broadcast live from Blackhall community centre, a walking tour of Shotton and a whole events day featuring games especially devised for Horden, staged in the Horden Welfare Park.
September 2017
DNEX...A trade exhibition with a difference
DNEX shows two days of the very latest in assistive technology- plus advice and networking for those working in the field of disability and for those with disabilities. There was a great atmosphere going round the event and we hope that the pictures we took for them give a good idea of what was on offer.
Top experience of the day – seeing an amazing robotics powered chair lift a man up from his seat, put him into a standing position, and then levitate him even higher. Very 21st Century. Not cheap but obviously the future!
August 2017
The Geometry of Nothing...
It's nice when something is actually printed these days rather than just being online. The first edition of Sculptorvox magazine is available for pre-order and includes an article written by our MD Neil A which outlines an arts project he is currently collaborating on and puts this into the context of his past work.
Check it out here>>Please support the mag if you can as it's the first of a groundbreaking publication, and you can say you were there at the very beginning of something out of nothing!
July 2017
Cheers to China...
One of our more interesting jobs this month was filming local wine tasting expert Paul Robinson in the atmospheric surroundings of Blackfriar's Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne. The client is offering up centuries of experience from the wine growers of Europe to the growing Chinese market. Paul happily quaffs a few ruby reds and offers his advice on all aspects of tasting wine.
China is a growing market for European wine consumption and we hope this online series will be a great success… one of many. You can follow developments online on their wechat or weibo account at: yinglunweidao 英伦味道
June 2017
It lives!
Drum roll please... Our new website for Disability North has now gone live. The site has lots of functionality built in – including a PA vacancies listing and a second hand listing, plus the abiity to book online, blog and donate to this very important charity. We even designed them a new logo.
You can also watch the video we made on the home page. A powerful supplier directory is currently hidden whilst the company profile pages are being populated.
We hope you’ll take a look. And for those of you with screen readers...it’s looking like a beautiful day!
May 2017
Word on the street...
It will not have escaped your notice that there is a general election approaching. This month we were out on the streets trawling opinion. Well, to be specific, our MD Neil A was – accompanying his daughter Holly Baxter who is VOICES editor at the Independent.
Neil became her snapper for a few days... Here he is in Darlington, hanging out with a rather cardboard looking Jeremy and Theresa. The lovely smiley waitress in the pic works at a charity restaurant called ‘The Fork in the Road’... very appropriate we think...Read the article here >>
April 2017
Tubs n Tubes...
Our new client Derma products produce a wide range of creams and ointments that sooth and assist in calming all manner of dermatological conditions. For starters they needed some product photography of their new range so that’s where we began.
Looking forward to getting to grips with lots of other cool marketing material for our dynamic new chums!
March 2017
Dream your house...
This month we have been involved in a lovely project involving a ceramic artist and a print artist who are working with school age groups based in Gateshead. The children and young adults have been considering what it might be like to build a house without all the usual restrictions...and just let their imaginations go to town. It has been a very uplifting experience, seeing them so enthralled in their creations. Photographing in this situation is both a challenge and lots of fun too.
There will be a show of the work produced, in Trinity Square Gateshead next month so look out for further shout outs.
Feb 2017
Carry that weight...
On a cold Feb morning the guys we were out on Blyth quayside for our client Royston Engineering - ready to photograph a rather large shaft that had to be delicately hoisted over and into the MTS Viscount’s engine room. It was a bit like passing a piece of thread through a needle. With one large crane and a few dedicated hands, this heavyweight got threaded through the hatch and into the engine room. Sounds easy but it was quite a struggle.
Taking photographs in this sort of situation is a balance between getting into the middle of the action as much as possible, whilst making sure you don't become an irritant to the process. The guys were very good at ignoring our snapper and the client was very happy with the series of images we gave them telling the story of this particular installation. Job done and an interesting day out in beautiful Blyth...
January 2017
Ready to roll
Straight into the new year... and we have now completed our video showcase for Disability North – complete with subtitles to make it as accessible as possible for a wide range of viewers. This has been a great project to work on and features both staff and clients, giving an overview of all the invaluable work the charity does. So far feedback has been amazing, so massive thanks to all who took part!
With the video soon to be released into the public domain, we are now working on delivering them a new website, which is going to have more functionality and a bright new feel. More on this in the coming months.
December 2016
Jingle Bells
You may be aware that Christmas is approaching (joke) so we’re updating the news early this month to wish anyone who pops by a very happy one!
It’s been a less than uplifting year from a global perspective but we really, truly hope that – whichever way your politics swing - next year we can all work towards a bit of world harmony... it’s gotta make sense...
(photo from neil armstrong's video installation "Send three and fourpence...")
November 2016
Coming soon
We are now working on a video for Disability North which is going to showcase all the services they provide and give a friendly face to some of their key personnel. We have also filmed a small selection of the good folks they have helped, who were a joy to work with.
This is in production and will be ready in the New Year. It's been loadsa fun so far..
October 2016
A site is born
Our good friends and client East River PR wanted a makeover on their website. We have just made them a lovely new site which reflects all the things they do – simple, straight to the point and with some nice big tinted images which give a flavour of their world. Works great on all devices...from wide screen to mobile phones.
They love it... and so do we.
September 2016
Good Work
Disability North asked us to make a video presentation for their annual conference, featuring well known disability rights activist Ruth Abrahams MBE. Her lifetime of advocacy and action in the field of disability rights was featured for an invited audience to watch on the big screen.
Ruth was exceptionally patient, allowing us to film her around her home as the backdrop to her presentation. Her father had been an enthusiastic amateur film maker, and we incorporated some of his 8mm film footage into the final programme, making it a very poignant, entertaining and informative piece.
August 2016
Shout Out
As well as working for all our lovely clients - our MD Neil Armstrong also pursues his own art practice, and this month sees the launch of his new website. Only seems right that we should give it a plug here as there is a lot of very thought provoking work on the site. It really acts as a snapshot of his current artistic career.
Go take a look here> we are sure you will be intrigued. The attention to detail, skill and care he brings to his own projects applies equally to his commerical and corporate work for clients.
July 2016
The science of business
As we are about to embark on a couple of new video projects for Newcastle University - we thought we would give you the link to the intro to Science Central in Newcastle we produced not too long ago... this is an amazing project and just one of a suite of videos we made for this initiative. Really looking forward to working with new departments within the university on yet more technologically innovative projects.
June 2016
Not sure what it does...but it sure is pretty
It's a meter for testing someting pretty important... but sometimes it's not so important to know what it does - just to make it look good. Ok it's a bit small to see here, but we did some retouching and it looked the business for a recent press ad. We like nice industrial objects... and why not - they have a beauty all of their own.
May 2016
Reclaim the space
Some interesting folks arrived on our doorstep from RECOAT based in Glasgow. They make urban art that's a million miles away from 'grafitti' ...though that doesn't stop it getting added to by a few local taggers.
The space it looks across falls into an ongoing art project we're developing so we said 'hi' to the guys n gals and did a little interview which may get used at a later date. They were heading off into Europe to continue the project... whose borders we hope remain unfettered and open to collaboration in the future.
April 2016
TESTING TESTING
Our client Royston Engineering does a lot of that - it's all part of the service. Some recent on-site photography with lights and ladders is bringing this to the attention of a few more people.
Don't always do this but decided to use some coloured gels this time... really bangs out the beautiful orange.
March 2016
SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM
We had a great time in lovely Liverpool filming vox pops with the locals this month. It is 75 years since the first tin of SPAM landed on our shores courtesy of the yanks, hence being chosen as the kick off point for a summer tour across England to spread the word. Many local people have connections to the factory that made it and one guy has even changed his middle name to 'I love SPAM' by deed poll! Yes it's a crazy world we live in.
We have just finished the edit so check it out here>>
This was a great project to work on and loadsa fun!!
February 2016
Ceramics with soul
Had the pleasure of photographing the ceramic work of artist Judith Davies this month. Her work is subtle - echoing the forms found on beaches, with each piece being reworked until it has a unquie organic form. She was delivering some pieces to show at the Bluecoat Display Centre in Liverpool and wanted photography that emphasised the tactile, muted feel of her work. Very happy to work with such a talented artist.
December 2015
All the very best
You may have noticed it was christmas this December... and we would like to wish everyone a very happy and productive new year. What more is there to say... let's get on with it!
One of our more fun jobs this month was photographing the new intake of computer science PhD students at Newcastle University...so in the spirit of festivity here they are all being suitably (well sightly) animated!
November 2015
Power to the people
Working with our long time client Royston diesel power, our very own Neil T flew over to Nigeria to help cement a deal with British run Nigerian building contractor BCL.
There are lots of opportunities for power generation in a country which is rapidly developing and we are excited to be involved in supporting this. First job is a re-vamp of the BCL website and then comes the marketing push...
October 2015
A mysterious art
Our MD Neil A was chosen by the North East Photographers Network and Great North Culture to be one of 5 artist and photographers this month to undertake a workshop in the wonderful Great Hall in the Discovery museum in Newcastle, learning about collodian photography. They were also given a tour of the eclectic TWAM archives. The workshop involved leaving the digital world for a day and getting down and dirty with chemicals and glass plates...woohoo...and here's the result.
He chose to photograph an early calculating machine which the museum kindly allowed him to use (with gloves on of course!). It fits in with a bigger project of his...but that’s a longer story!
September 2015
Stitching across time
We had fun filming digital artist Victoria Bradbury this month. She is completing a PHD at Sunderland University and about to take up a teaching post in her native USA – but before she left for the States she setup a very intriguing art installation for us to film.
She works with computer code, alongside physical material. Basically – by touching fingers the assembled audience was able to make a connection across two points which, in turn, made a needle move across the screen and interact with all manner of projected visuals generated from weather data. Got that?? A piece full of intriguing interplay we thought...
August 2015
Game of Drones
This month was full on Science Central filming in Newcastle. It’s a great project to work on as it covers both the human aspect - the people stories, plus it offers a chance to showcase a beautiful building, its architecture, and how it sits in the larger context.
What better way to film the full panorama than by flying a drone around the building and getting a seagull's view. The guys at the Daedalus Group did a great job and really put some time in getting to know the location. British weather being its usual unpredictable self, we had to pick our moments... and then there is the wind to think about too. Luckily GPS locking helps a lot to keep the drone rock solid whilst getting some stunning bird's eye shots.
July 2015
Core Blimey
Hard to resist that headline. We are amazingly happy to have been awarded the contract by Creative Space Management to film the Science Central developments in Newcastle upon Tyne - of which the flagship building 'The Core' is the first to be built.
This is much more than your average development though and will form a complete science based community of business and academic/industry based research. It's a real privilege to have been given the job as it offers a fantastic opportunity to show how real world thinking is being undertaken at the coalface of the 21st Century.
Did I say coalface? Well actually the site used to be a coalfield - followed by Scottish and Newcastle Brewery. As time moves inevitably onward, we look forward to being part of a signifcant future vision right on our doorstep.
June 2015
In the land of the bicycle
A 2 day shoot in the Netherlands and a 5 day edit straight after to meet a live event deadline left us a tad bleary eyed. The client was very pleased though so it was all worthwhile. Client anonymity means we can't give lots of detail however we can tell you we were given a tour of the facility on beautiful sit-up-and-beg bicycles...It was a sunny day too yay!
KLM managed to lose our tipod on the way back but made up for it the next day by delivering it back hasto pronto.
May 2015
Waving the Flag
We spend most of our time promoting other businesses, and we're never happier than when we're doing that. Now and again though we have to wave our own flag and tell other people, who might not know everything we do, a little bit about the wonderful work we produce for our lovely clients.
We have put together some pdf's that describe various aspects of the industry sectors we have worked with recently. It even includes a rare photo of our two head creatives Neil and Neil!! It has got to be worth asking for a copy just for that >>
April 2015
The magic of industry
On location recently one of our tasks was to photograph some VERY big ships engines with huge cylinder heads, crankshafts and pistons that get refurbished and sent back to work all shiny and new. Had to show you this as it looks like a magic trick...dry ice to contract the insert just enough for it to slip snugly into its hole (with a little persuasion from a mallet).
This action has to be completed in one swift move or it won't go in ...so we practised a few times to get the focus perfect. It dangles in the air on a magnetised rod ...far from being a mundane industrial shot!
larger version here >>
March 2015
Quite literally - a cool product
This month saw the launch of a new version of the Dermacool website. It's not a big site but we have added functionality to include a content managed area where the client can upload their own files and, once registered, allow customers to download them - making life a little simpler for all concerned.
With some nice new product photography taken in our own studio, the site has had a spring clean and looks fresher for it!
Feb 2015
Newcastle stands united
Pegida, the anti-Muslim organisation from Germany chose Newcastle upon Tyne for their first UK demonstration. Intolerance of other cultures and beliefs is not something we condone, so we joined the MUCH larger anti-pegida march to show our solidarity for a more inclusive view of the world.
You can see some of the pics we took here> . A negative became a positive...we all know where hate gets you...
January 2015
It's ok to smile :)
It's good to meet people - and what better way than to make them smile? Snapping people out and about is one thing but often we are asked to take portraits of them in their corporate surroundings and sometimes they might not be totally relaxed.
Time is of the essence in these situations but so is putting them at ease.
Have camera will travel - we did a lot of that in January.
December 2014
A Newie GUI
Chances are you already know, but if you haven't joined the ranks of geekdom yet - a GUI is a graphical user interface. Grand title but, like so many acronyms, it's quite straightforward. Basically we have been working on a new set of screens for one of our clients who has a rather impressive bit of software which monitors the where, when and what of ship functionality.
Fuel consumption related to throttle control, alongside a variety of other ship handling data, feeds back to both the shore and to the ships Master as a bridge display. Our contribution is making the front end look good and clear to use for the latest release in 2015.
These are interesting times - we wish you all the most dynamic and prosperous of New Years!
November 2014
The cookie confusion
They may be clouds in your coffee but you do need to know what cookies you use on your website and how you make your users aware of them. This month we have instigated a cookie awareness and opt in/out function on two of our client sites which use cookies to record visitor browsing habits.
You don't need a sledge hammer to crack a cookie for many sites - but if you haven't already got a policy you should do a cookie audit to see what information your users require.
The best place to start we have found is here >>
Hope this helps...enjoy!
October 2014
We live
Yes folks (as you can see) our NEW WEBSITE IS LIVE...yay! We have started up a new twitter account as well (to the right of each page) so if you feel inclined please follow us and we can all keep an eye on each others interesting news. We promise to update regularly!
If you find any issues with the site please let us know - it is made to reconfigure on different platforms, but if you have an problems we would value your feedback.
September 2014
A Farewell to A-N
After 15 years at the helm, Su Jones is stepping aside at AN and AIR - the most useful artists network and on going information organisation in the UK. We were very happy to be asked to make a 3min video for her leaving do which encapsulates her time there. Not possible of course but we did our best! The video was a great success on the night and is now live on the their website. You can view it here >
September 2014
Hands across the sea
Pharma Assist are a Netherlands based compounding pharmaceutical company. We had been over previously to shoot some footage which looks at their processes. They wanted us to turn a video around within the week which they could use for an upcoming event. There was no voice over required so we cut it to music giving an impressionistic overview of their company. Now their sales force also has it resident on the ipads they take on client visits. Works for us!